Network Matter

Day: October 15, 2013

Cisco’s position in mobile infrastructure has steadily evolved over the years.

Its recent vision around small cells, WiFi, policy, network optimization and monetization highlights that shift.

Now, it is incumbent on the vendor to demonstrate how it’s executing on that vision.

We’re currently in the middle of updating our assessment of Cisco in the mobile access infrastructure space. This process involved multiple drafts, along with a vendor review opportunity. As I was doing my part in the chain – getting Sr. Analyst Ed Gubbins some feedback on his solid analysis – it occurred to me just how far Cisco has come in wireless. Continue reading “Cisco: Mobile Ambition vs. History”→

For years, we’ve heard equipment vendors refer vaguely to vertical markets as an untapped growth opportunity. We’ve heard that smart grid networks behave similarly to mobile networks. We’ve seen connected cars at trade shows and heard that they’ll soon be able to drive us to work in the morning. Lately, I’ve even heard that crates of bananas will be able to communicate with ship captains and port operators in order to better schedule their arrival into port at the perfect stage of ripeness. Seriously… I heard that. What I hadn’t heard until I attended Ericsson’s OSS/BSS analyst conference held in Boston earlier this week is that the key to tapping vertical markets is much more about the professional and managed services a vendor can bring to an engagement than the telecom products it might eventually sell as part of the deal. Continue reading “Managed & Professional Services Key to Taking Telecom to Vertical Markets”→